It didn't take long for those "Will it Blend?" videos to get long in the tooth. You can only watch so many smartphones being torn to shreds before the novelty wears off. But to celebrate the birth of his 40th grandkid, Tom Dickson tosses a mountain of magnetic Buckyballs into the blades and the results are as… »1/26/15 1:40pm 1/26/15 1:40pm

Buckyballs are a public menace that were recalled last year following a protracted battle with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. The saga officially comes to a close this weekend. The deadline to claim a refund is January 17th. »1/14/15 1:53pm 1/14/15 1:53pm

The deadly magnetic metal spheres known as Buckyballs may be officially banned, but they keep living in the homes and offices of rebels who keep making cool stuff with them. Like this massive cube assembled with 10,000 magnetic spheres—without a doubt the most satisfying video so far this month. »8/27/14 10:04am 8/27/14 10:04am

They say that it's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye. Technically, the same applies to skull fractures, poisoning, and third-degree burns. Throughout history, toy makers have designed some truly brutal products (lawn darts, anyone?). But with modern-day lawsuits, you'd think we would've curbed that…»8/27/14 9:00am 8/27/14 9:00am

As of last week, Buckyballs are dead. The magnetic toy has been officially recalled following a two-year battle with the government regulators who sought to ban them. Here's how a seemingly wonderful amusement became plaything non grata in the span of just a few short years. »7/24/14 10:15am 7/24/14 10:15am

First they came for our Buckyballs. Now, or pretty-much-exact-same Zen Magnets are in Uncle Sam's crosshairs, with a lawsuit from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to boot them off store shelves. The War on Toy Magnets has begun. »8/07/12 3:48pm 8/07/12 3:48pm

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has just banned the sale of Buckyballs, those magic magnets that can be shaped any which way, because the balls are a serious health hazard for children. It's the first stop-sale order by the CPSC in 11 years. »7/25/12 4:20pm 7/25/12 4:20pm

Buckminster fullerene molecules, the naturally occurring spheres made up of 60 carbon atoms, have long been suspected to have biological benefits. Now, a study that set out to establish if they were toxic when administered orally has proven quite the opposite—they almost doubled the lifespan of the rats that they were… »4/17/12 3:40pm 4/17/12 3:40pm

The brewing geek war between magnet magnates seems to be coming to a head. Buckyballs owner Jake Bronstein, who recently threatened Zen Magnets with an "army of lawyers" over their competing product, seems to have a new strategy: Hiding. »9/28/10 11:22am 9/28/10 11:22am

Bucky Balls are tiny little powerful magnets that look like little round pellets. They stick together and can form basically any 3D object that you want. They are awesome. »4/24/09 12:20pm 4/24/09 12:20pm

Just last week, we heard that carbon nanotubes could be as dangerous as asbestos. Now a new study takes another damning shot at nanotechnology, this time at the sector's golden child, buckyballs. Hollow balls of carbon that are promising for everything from fighting cancer to coating paint, a recent study found that… »5/28/08 11:20am 5/28/08 11:20am